Wolf Trilogy: The Box Set

by M. R. Polish

  Ian strode forward. “Julie, you have no idea what was happening down here before the fight. Es had no warning and no time. You either shut your mouth for the rest of this trip or I’ll shut it for you.”

  Jarak came up behind Ian. “I don’t care if you’re my brother, you will not talk to her like that.”

  Ian turned to face him. “You know, you’re just jealous because Es chose me and not you, and you got stuck with that witch over there.”

  Jarak pulled his fist back and threw a punch at Ian, but Ian ducked out of the way.

  “Hey!” We all turned to see Lauren holding her side, standing at the first-class entrance. “I hate to break it up, because I’d love to see Ian kick your ass, but we’ve got bigger issues.”

  I rushed to her side with Ailaina. “Are you okay?”

  I moved her hand from her side, revealing a dark red, sticky stain on her purple blouse. “Oh my gosh, Lauren, what happened?”

  “It was nothing, just a stupid breed caught me off-guard. When we heard that woman screaming we all ran to see what was wrong. As soon as Jarak and Julie went downstairs, one grabbed me from behind. I never saw him the whole time we were up there. I think he came out of the closed bathroom.” She winced as she placed her hand back over the wound.

  I glared over my shoulder at Camilla. “I thought you said they couldn’t awaken from your stupid Comotosa spell until you or someone with the B.O.M.B. awakened them?”

  She backed up slightly. “I don’t know how he’s awake. It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Well, then, who else with the B.O.M.B. is on board this plane?”

  She shook her head. “No one other than the co-pilot. I screened the flight myself.”

  Ian spread his arms out over the bloody scene. “Yeah, and that worked out so well, didn’t it.”

  Tears filled Camilla’s eyes. “It wasn’t my fault. Andrew said that if I didn’t let them all on board that he would kill me. I didn’t know they were gonna try and kill you. I swear.”

  The plane shifted with turbulence and I grasped the sliding door to the entrance. My stomach rolled as I remembered we were thousands of feet above the ground, or ocean, and all my adrenaline left, returning my fear of flying. “Who is Andrew?”

  Camilla wrung her hands. “He’s the co-pilot, but he doesn’t have magical abilities.”

  Oh, my night was just getting better and better. The man who might want to kill me was flying the plane. “Then how did he know about the breeds? How did he know about me?”

  “He is one of the few humans that work at the Bureau. He used to be so sweet, and cared about helping all of the magical society, but lately he has been short and easily irritated. This afternoon before boarding, he came to talk to me. That was the worst I’ve ever seen him.”

  “How did he get to be part of the Bureau?” Jarak asked.

  Camilla chewed on her lip for a moment. “Every flight must have two agents on board. One in the cabin and one in the cockpit. It’s a security measure. There aren’t enough of us with powers that have a pilot’s license. So, they hire humans for that part when needed.”

  The plane jumped again and I could feel a slight descent. “Wait a minute. If he doesn’t have magical abilities, then Julie put him to sleep too, right?” A larger jolt of the plane left us all grasping out for something to hold on to.

  My heart raced and dropped in my stomach. Ian rushed over to me as the ride smoothed back out. “It’s okay, we’ll just have Julie wake him back up.”

  I nodded into his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me.

  “Um, well, maybe we should address the other problem I was talking about too. I’m not saying waking the pilot is a bad idea, but what are we gonna do about the other three crossbreeds that fled somewhere in the plane I saw when coming downstairs?”

  We all looked at Lauren. “What other three?” I asked.

  More turbulence made me grasp Ian’s shirt until my knuckles turned white. A slight whir sounded as the descent became more prominent. “We’re gonna die,” I whispered.

  “Um, Julie, now would be a good time to wake up the pilot,” Ian said.

  Julie ran toward the cockpit. I took in a deep breath. She was gonna wake him up and we would be fine. I hoped.

  Lauren let out a small cry as the dim lights flickered overhead and along the bottom of the aisles. Okay, so maybe we really were going to die.

  Luna brushed up against my leg. “It’s okay, Es, I’m right here. It might hurt and take forever to recover, but you’re immortal, remember? You can make it through this. I think.”

  That was not comforting at all. I looked up into Ian’s azure eyes. He was not immortal. If only we had taken the next steps to being together, maybe then he would have been okay. Like my dad with my mom, they were bound together by love, making him immortal with her. I loved Ian, but was it enough to save him?

  “Esmerelda, I need your help!” Julie yelled from the front of the plane.

  That worried me even more than dying. She never needed—let alone wanted—my help. I ran as fast as I could, jumping over the dead bodies to get to the cockpit.

  She looked at me with wide eyes. “He won’t wake up. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

  Jarak was there first, grabbing Julie and pulling her out of the way. “Move, Es, I can’t let this happen, not right now. It’s not right.”

  I didn’t understand what he meant, but moved anyway. Ian was right behind me. “Camilla and Lauren went to take care of the other three breeds, and Ailaina went to find a first aid kit to help Lauren.”

  I nodded but it all felt so surreal. Was this really happening?

  “Damn it, Julie, why’d you have to put them to sleep?” Ian asked.

  “Don’t yell at me. I did what I had to do. There was an entire plane screaming, remember? I never thought of the pilots.”

  Jarak tried every combination to open the cockpit door but nothing worked. Ian pushed past me to Jarak. “Move over, I got this.” He slammed into the door with his shoulder, creating a small but otherwise useless dent. Turbulence jerked the plane as Ian hit it again.

  “Hey, man, I don’t see what you’re trying to do. This door is made to withhold attacks,” Jarak said as he returned to the door.

  “Well, wise one, the plane is going down because smarty pants over there put the pilot to sleep and can’t wake him. We,” he used his finger to point at all of us in a circle, “are the only ones awake. So, we need to get in there.”

  Hearing Ian confirm my fear of why the plane was descending so fast scared me even more. “Let him try, Jarak.”

  “Fine, but what are you gonna do once you get in there? None of us know how to fly a plane.”

  “I’ll figure that out, right now we just need to open this door.” Ian plowed into the door again.

  “That won’t work,” Camilla said as she neared the cockpit.

  Jarak raised his hands in surrender. “I’ve already tried to tell him.”

  “Here, let me.” She walked up to the door with a set of keys. “It’s not only bullet proof, but magic proof. None of you would be able to get through here without me. Not even the highest witch could break in there.”

  Ian moved back over by me, rubbing his shoulder. “Well, now you show up.”

  The door opened and Camilla moved out of the way. Ian rushed into the cockpit. One of the pilots had fallen forward when Julie put them to sleep and landed on the autopilot, turning it off. Well, that explains why the plane is descending.

  We all crowded in as best we could to watch. Ian moved him from his seat and laid him on the floor. Stepping over him, Ian sat down and looked around. “Do you think if I hit the auto thing it will engage where they had it set before?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, but we gotta try something.”

  Ian switched it over but nothing happened. He shook his head then hit the control dash. “Julie, wake him up!”

  “I can’t. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

&n
bsp; “Figure it out,” I said as I stepped over the sleeping pilot and unbuckled the other one. He slouched over and I barely caught him before his head hit the floor. He finally made it out of the chair and rested on top of the other guy. I sat in the other pilot’s seat. “Maybe I can help?”

  Ian gave me a sad look. “What do you wanna try?”

  “I don’t know. I’m gonna feel for the energy in the computer to help while you switch the auto thing back on again. If we can keep us from crashing into the ocean until Julie can wake up the pilot, then I will be happy.”

  “Alright, ready?” Ian grabbed the switch and waited for me.

  Even with shaky hands I released enough energy to boost the power in the computer and Ian turned it on. Almost instantly, the plane leveled out and I could feel an incline. “Oh thank God.” My breaths came fast.

  Camilla grabbed her chest and let out a sigh. “Thank you.”

  I stood up and ran out of the cockpit, there wasn’t any time to throw a party yet. Julie wasn’t anywhere that I could see. The passengers I passed were still asleep, but at least the plane wasn’t descending anymore. Although, the lights still flickered occasionally down the aisles.

  “Julie!” I ran down the aisle. Where was she?

  “Es, Ailaina needs your help with Lauren.” Luna’s distraught voice interrupted my thoughts.

  I headed back to the stairs. Taking two at a time, I made it to the upper deck where Ailaina, Lauren, and Luna waited for me. Lauren was lying on the floor having trouble breathing.

  I kneeled next to her. She smiled up at me but I knew it was fake. “So you decided to join my party after all,” she whispered in between heavy breaths.

  “Yeah, you know, I thought you’d miss me.” I looked over her torso. Her hands were folded together over the wound in her side. I wanted to cry. It looked so much worse than it did earlier. Bright crimson pooled out onto the floor.

  “Es,” Ailaina touched my arm. “They used Belladonna.”

  The world around me seemed to slow down. Nothing mattered anymore but Lauren. It was just like Bry all over again. All of my childhood he was my dad; even after I found out, I loved him just the same. In my heart I would always have a place for him as a father, and losing him much the same way pulled at my heart as I looked at Lauren. “Get Ian.”

  Ailaina left to go find him but I never saw her leave. Luna nestled up next to me and that’s when I noticed Kara laying down with Lauren. Her muzzle rested on Lauren’s shoulder. Her soft whimper tore at my heart, and tears filled my eyes.

  I sat up a little better and ran my hands over her injury. I could feel the Belladonna burning my skin, but I still tried to pull it from her. Lauren gripped my wrist. “Don’t, it’s not worth you dying, too.” She took a ragged breath and winced. “Besides, Ian needs you. I’m glad he’s happy again.”

  Shaking my head, I sniffed and tried to hold back the tears, but they fell anyway. “No, I’m gonna try. I have to.”

  I placed my hands back over her wound and tried to pull the poison from her, but nothing came out. I pushed harder as tears streamed profusely down my face. Ian gently moved my hands away. I didn’t even realize he was there with us. “Es, honey, she’s gone.”

  Ailaina pulled her knees to her chest and cried.

  I sobbed as Ian pulled me into his arms. A howl made me look over his shoulder. Lauren’s spirit wolf looked down at Lauren, and then slowly she disappeared. Tiny sparkles of glistening spirit remained where she stood dutifully, and then floated over Lauren, covering her completely. One at a time they faded until Lauren and her wolf were gone.

  My body racked as a new sob tore through me. Ian held me closer. “Es, I know it’s hard, but we have to find Julie and wake up the pilot.”

  I nodded and pulled back from his cocoon of comfort. “I have a better idea.” I wiped the tears away and took one more glance where Lauren had been. I stood up and ran down the stairs, Ian close behind me, leaving Ailaina to grieve alone.

  All the passengers were still sleeping heavily. I felt out around me, not for crossbreeds or magical beings, but for the spell she used. It wasn’t a normal sleep spell, that much I was certain. And where the heck did Julie go? I should’ve thought of it sooner – it was her spell and she could undo it, she just didn’t want to. But why?

  “Princess, what are you doing?”

  I spun around to face Ian. “I’m gonna wake them up.”

  He tipped his head slightly. “You can do that?”

  “I’m stronger than her. For crying out loud, I brought her back to life, I can counter her stupid spell.”

  “Alright, if you’re sure.”

  “Oh, I’m sure.”

  “Hey there, give me a hand, will ya,” Camilla called out from the first class area.

  Ian and I both ran in there. She was dragging one of the breeds toward a closet of sorts. Once I got closer I could tell it was an elevator that made the downstairs accessible to the crew. “What are you doing?”

  She stopped tugging on the lifeless body to look up at me. She blew her hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. “You have to ask? Before you go waking up all my passengers I need to set the stage. If they wake up and see dead bodies everywhere; what will happen?”

  I leaned toward Ian. “She’s got a point.”

  Ian bent over and picked up the guy she was hauling and swung him up over the seats and onto his shoulder. “Where do I put him?”

  Camilla walked briskly to the elevator that was already open with one guy inside. “Put him in here. We’re gonna have to stuff it as full as we can. I only have two storage spaces available: this elevator and that closet.” She nodded to a small closet just to my left.

  The plane bounced for few seconds and I held my breath. We needed to wake the pilot before something happened and we all died—then it wouldn’t matter where we stuffed the bodies. “Come on, guys, we need to hurry.”

  “Where the heck are Jarak and Julie anyway?” Ian asked as he shoved a body in the closet.

  I dropped the legs of the one I pulled to the elevator. “I have no idea, but they are seriously pissing me off.”

  “Hey, they’re just missing all the fun.” Ian gave me a wink before picking up the breed at our feet.

  Camilla dragged the last body over to us. “You call this fun?”

  “Have you guys seen Julie?” Jarak said behind me.

  “So now you show up? Where’ve you been?” Ian kicked a hand back inside the closet before slamming the door shut. “Don’t you dare lie to me either, brother. What’s going on?”

  Jarak took a step back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I felt the familiar tingles of electricity in the palm of my hand. I held it up. Tiny sparks that looked like lightning sizzled out from my skin. “Jarak, don’t make me use this on you.”

  He swallowed hard and held his arms up. “Es, it’s me, Jarak; you know me. I don’t know, honestly.”

  “Funny thing is, I don’t know you anymore. Since Julie came back as the walking dead, you’ve changed. Now tell us, what’s going on?”

  Jarak took off down toward the back of the plane. Ian and I exchanged looks before taking off after him. “Where does he think he’s going? We’re thirty-something thousand feet in the air. It’s not like he can just disappear!” I said while jogging down the aisle, looking in every row for Jarak.

  “Esmerelda!”

  I stopped as Camilla called my name.

  “I’ll go look with Ian after I get this passenger to her seat. I can’t have her waking up on the floor. You need to wake the pilot.”

  She was right. Ian gave me a slight nod before taking off after Jarak again. I helped Camilla buckle the woman in her seat. “Will she remember?”

  “She’ll hopefully remember it as a bad dream.”

  “Ugh, I’ve had my share of those lately.” I looked outside; light was slowly creeping its way into the sky. Morning was coming. I needed to wake the pilot—fast.


  Camilla touched my arm. “Go ahead. I trust that you can do it. I’ll go help Ian with Jarak and Julie.”

  I nodded as she ran down the aisle. I let out a deep breath and walked to the cockpit. The door was still wide open and both pilots were still piled on each other sleeping soundly. Great. I needed them to be in their seats with the door closed so the pilot didn’t realize anything was wrong.

  “I’ll help.”

  Ailaina’s voice made me jump. I spun around and gave her a smile. I was glad to see her. “You okay?”

  Her brow creased. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t have a choice right now. Lauren and I had just become fast friends. I just, I don’t know.”

  I gave her a hug. I knew she was still upset, but I didn’t have time to think about Lauren. I was needed to help save everyone on the plane. She pulled back and wiped her face clear of all tears and sniffed. “I’m okay. Let’s get them to their seats.”

  It took both of us, but we were finally able to get each man in his seat with belts buckled. “Alright, let’s close the door. Camilla can come talk to the co-pilot; besides, I have no clue which one works for the B.O.M.B. because he’s human, and I’m not sure which one is pilot or co-pilot.”

  Ailaina nodded and we slipped out of the cockpit, sliding the door shut. She let out a long breath. “What about all the blood? I mean, it’s everywhere. I think the passengers will notice if they are painted red when they wake up and the floor and seats don’t look much better.”

  I looked around. She was right, blood was splattered all over the cabin and some of the passengers had speckled red splotches on them. “I think I’m glad I have magic for this mess.” I chanted a small vanishing spell, and the crimson color disappeared from sight.

  Ailaina looked around, impressed, her hands on her hips. “Much better. At least it doesn’t look like World War Z happened anymore. Ready?”

  “Ready.”

  Closing my eyes, I let the energy around and inside the plane fill me. In my head I could see the aura of each person and looked for the one light surrounding everyone that was the same. A hue of green hovered over the entire plane, covering each passenger. That was it.